I believe that art making can lead me deep into the essence of what life on earth is all about. Painting is venturing into a dark cave where my spirit is squeezed and compressed. I become hungry for light and freedom. It is only by putting the right colors together to create light, finding a pathway through the shapes and depths of the painting and making it flow, that I finally emerge with a new understanding.
Sculpture is easier. I feel that my hands know what to do with the clay while my mind hasn’t a clue. The shapes gradually show me what they want to become and my job is to keep them from falling over or falling apart. I have been treating the surface of the fired sculptures as a canvas to paint on and it is in the act of painting that I discover the message inherent in the form. The finished piece is usually a revelation and a surprise.
